Just Survive
by CrazyRach
Summary: If there's one thing she does now, its try to survive. Alicia's life has been flipped upside down, and it only flips more when she runs into a familiar stranger who teaches her that maybe there should be more to life than just surviving. An Elyza Lex fic- so of course, Lexark. Qtwd/zombies/graphic stuff etc.
1. Chapter 1

Alicia slides to the ground. Her hands are shaking and she's breathing hard from running so hard. The bloody knife drops from her trembling fingers. It clatters against the tree trunk she's collapsed against. The gentle noise is muted to her. All she can hear is snarling and growling echoing loudly around her. The last noise of the dead guy she just knifed in the head.

Her eyes shake from the rancid blood on her hands to the body lying still in front of her. How had she killed him? How had she, the straight A college hopeful, killed a guy?

 _He was going to kill me_ , she thinks to herself as she wraps her arms around her knees.

 _No.._

She swallows the urge to be sick.

 _He was going to eat me._

Alicia shudders at the thought. To think how close she'd come to that makes her feel even more scared. She'd seen those things tear people apart before. She couldn't imagine how it'd feel. She didn't want to.

She stares at the dead guy and wonders what he'd been like alive. Maybe he'd owned a shitty car. Maybe he'd had a job he hated. Maybe he had a wife and kids, and a dog. Maybe he laughed despite the crap in his life because it was better than giving up. She bets he never saw this coming for him. Nobody had. He'd had a life and now he had nothing.

Just like her.

Miserably shaking Alicia thinks about her mom and Travis, hoping they were doing okay after the attack. Her arms tighten around her knees and she chokes on her scared breaths.

She should have never come here. She should have stayed on the boat with Nick and the others, like her mom had begged her to. Instead she'd argued she wasn't some useless child they could keep trapped on a boat. She could help. She could fight.

But she couldn't.

And now they could have paid the price for it.

Alicia stares at the ground, tears falling down her cheeks. She's seriously worried for her mom and Travis. She'd never seen which direction they'd ran. She'd been busy running from her own group of walkers. And now she was lost. And alone. Her family would be stressing out. They'd be trying to find her.

She had to find them.

"Hey!"

Alicia jumps suddenly when somebody yells and quickly looks up.

Standing in front of her is a blonde chick in a blue biker jacket and torn jeans. There's dirt and blood clinging to her skin and to the aviators tucked into the low cut of her black vest. She's got a scratch on her left cheek and her blue eyes are ringed with deep dark rings. She looks like she hasn't slept in a long time.

But Alicia barely registers all that. She's looking at the sharp looking knife sitting nice and snug in a sheath attached to the blonde's thigh.

And the gun she's holding in aim at Alicia's face.

Immediately Alicia cringes into the tree. The other girl's mean expression pauses seeing Alicia looking scared and she cracks into a wide smile.

"Oh, thank god!" She sighs out in relief. Alicia frowns at her accent and watches the gun come down, "I thought you were another fucking zombie!"

The blonde tucks the gun into a holster on her belt and lowers a hand down to help Alicia up. Alicia stares at it and then back at her.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" She growls when she finds her voice. She smacks the girl's hand away and shakily stumbles up by herself, "You were just about to shoot me and now you wanna be friends?!"

The stranger grins at Alicia. Her angry rejection of help seems to amuse her. It just annoys Alicia more.

"You get this one all by yourself, princess?" The girl asks ignoring the question and smirking as she kicks the dead man's shoe. Alicia glares at her.

"So what if I did?" She snaps back. The other girl shrugs.

"Well I would be impressed. But I can see your ego doesn't need that boost today. So I'll just be going"

She turns away and Alicia stumbles after her.

"Hey wait!"

She rushes to stop the girl. She's the first person Alicia's seen since losing her family this morning. The first living one anyway. She needs to ask her if she's seen her mom or Travis around.

She reaches out to take hold of the blonde's sleeve, stopping suddenly when the girl spins around and grabs hold of her shirt. Alicia freezes feeling a knife being pressed to her throat, and suddenly, somehow, its like they've been here before.

The other girl's body standing so close to hers sets all her nerve endings alight. Her heart jumps excited in her chest, as if it knows exactly whats happening and what will happen. Alicia doesn't. But she does knows if she moves forward, just a little, her body would align perfectly with the blondes, like a puzzle piece, like they were made for each other. Which is stupid, right. They've literally just met. And nothing about this crazy knife wielding blonde is making Alicia want to move anywhere.

She resists the urge to swallow and stands still, showing she means no harm. Her heart is racing terrified as she calmly breathes and she looks down at the other girl breathing angrily against her. Alicia waits for something to happen. She's hoping her stillness will make the other girl trust she's not a threat.

Seconds pass painfully slow as the knife scratches lightly against her throat. And her focus continues to slip as she stares down at the shocking sea blue glaring back at her. She's never seen eyes look that blue before. And yet they feel familiar somehow. Like an ocean she's swam in before.

"Rule one of zombie world," the girl husks, slowly letting go of Alicia's shirt, "Don't grab me. Ever"

"Got it" Alicia mumbles back, "Sorry" she adds sincerely.

The other girl lets up on her glare then and suddenly smirks happily back like nothing ever happened. She takes her knife down, which relieves Alicia.

"What's your name, princess?" she asks tucking the knife back onto her thigh.

Alicia rolls her eyes at the pet name, "Alicia"

The other girl nods and holds her hand out. Alicia makes to take it but the blonde moves last second and grips Alicia's forearm, clasping it firmly.

"Alicia," she repeats huskily and for some reason it causes a tremble to roll down Alicia's back, "I'm Elyza" she announces gently.

Elyza's fingers squeeze her and Alicia takes the hint to squeeze Eliza's arm back. It's a strange greeting but it makes Elyza smile and Alicia definitely likes that better than Elyza's angry face.

"So, Princess Alicia," Elyza smirks again, "What's your plan"

Alicia blinks at her as they let go of each other, "Plan?"

"Yeah. What're you up to on your lonesome out here?" Elyza waves around them at the filthy abandoned car lot.

"Looking for a friend" Alicia cuts back sarcastically. She can't help it. The other girl keeps looking at her like she can read her mind and it makes Alicia feel uncomfortable.

Elyza chuckles like she knows and nods towards the dead guy behind her, "Looks like you found one. Though, if that's how you treat your mates, I'm not sure this is gonna work out"

"Who said you were my friend?" Alicia fires back hotly.

Elyza just smiles. Alicia is all fire and aggression. And Elyza likes that. Almost as much as she likes the look of those legs in those shorts.

She takes a moment before she replies to Alicia's outburst, and runs her eyes eagerly up Alicia's tall frame. She's incredibly attractive. With her long brown hair pulled over one shoulder and her plump soft looking lips that are just begging to be touched. And she just knows if she touched them she'd never stop.

Elyza quickly glances down when she feels herself staring and finds her eyes catching on Alicia's stomach. There she spies a subtle set of abs sitting beneath the shirt tied around Alicia's waist. She rolls her eyes for the girl's lack of smart consideration when she last chose what to wear. She's got to know the world is full of things that would love to sink their teeth into her flesh.

Elyza swallows a low smile when she immediately considers herself one of them.

"I'm not trying to kill you" she says forcing her eyes up to meet with Alicia's green ones again. She finds herself staring at their forest glow. She finds a warmth in them even though they're taking her in with so much distance. It should feel cold. But it doesn't. She can't help but feel like its not the first time they've looked at her that way.

For some reason her smile turns a little sad when she adds, "Don't the rules of the world imply that that's how we make friends now?"

Alicia just stares back at her. She's isn't sure whether the girl is making fun of her or not.

Deciding she doesn't care and that she has no time for any of this Alicia starts walking past Elyza towards the mall she'd been trying to get into before the dead guy grabbed her. She's pretty sure her mom would be inside. With Travis. Looking for supplies. Just like they'd planned.

She makes about five steps before Elyza pulls her back.

"Not so fast, hot stuff" Elyza pulls Alicia around behind her and turns to face her with thumbs in her back pockets and a grin, "Where'd you think you're going?"

Alicia frowns at her, "I need to get in there" she points at the mall over Elyza's shoulder and makes to go again. But Elyza just pushes her back.

"Rule two of zombie world; don't be an idiot"

"Excuse me?!" Alicia swipes elyza's hand down and folds her arms. Elyza can't help but laugh at the small show of standoffishness.

She steps forward and brings her hands down on Alicia's shoulders to force her to be still. She brushes her thumbs across the girls exposed collarbone gently when she starts arguing until she feels her relax a little. Oddly alicia feels strangely comforted by the unwanted contact.

"I get it" Elyza says continuing to stroke Alicia's skin, "You wanna go shopping because who wouldn't, right? The entire mall is up for grabs. What're you after? That handbag your daddy always put off buying you? That new laptop you couldn't afford on your allowance?" Elyza grins at Alicia's lips pursing angrily, "New dancing shoes?"

Alicia glares coldly at the girl's mocking. Her temper was caught fast on Elyza's insinuation that she was shallow and selfish enough to turn into a thief the moment the world went crazy. She wasn't some daddy's girl. She never had been. She never got the chance to be.

"Food" she says curtly, surprising the other girl, "And medicine. My friend is sick"

"Sick how?" Elyza asks immediately narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the brunette. Alicia rolls her eyes.

"Not bitten sick" she stands back from Elyza's hands. She doesn't understand why the girl keeps touching her. Or why she sort of likes it.

"You realise that entire place is going to be crawling with things that'll take one look at that hot bod and try to chow down?" Elyza tells her. She runs her eyes over Alicia again and smirks, "Not that I blame them"

Alicia's hand clenches at her side. She's angry at the blonde for treating her like a kid. But worse she feels oddly flattered by her comment too. Its confusing. She takes a couple breaths to calm down and starts walking towards the mall. She hears Elyza groan before she follows.

"You'll get me killed, princess" she grumbles in pursuit.

Alicia immediately spins around and prods her in the chest.

"Hey!" Elyza yelps rubbing the hurting spot.

"I didn't ask for you to turn up and fall into my lap" Alicia growls viciously, her fury at the world and especially this annoying blonde on full display in her stormy green eyes glaring down at the shorter girl. It has Elyza stopping short. Alicia's anger is both terrifying and harrowing. And yet, she's not scared. Because somehow she knows its all for show.

"I didn't ask for you to find me and follow me around like some sort of puppy" Alicia continues, voice deepening with that angry growling timbre that Elyza thinks suits her just right, "Okay? I got here alone and I was doing completely fine. So just.. just take a hike!"

To Alicia's rage Elyza just tilts her head and grins.

"Fell into your lap, huh?" She chuckles when Alicia blushes at her own choice of words, "Well, I don't remember that part.."

Elyza walks forward, straight into Alicia's space. She leans even further in so their noses just brush, causing a nervous tremble to roll down Alicia's back. Alicia backs up immediately but Elyza doesn't let her go far. The brunette swallows watching the blonde follow her and she jumps feeling her butt hit something blocking her path backwards.

Elyza smirks at Alicia caught up against a car bonnet and slips herself right in front of her. Giving Alicia absolutely no way out as she stretches a little up.

"Maybe you could jog my memory though" Elyza husks looking down to those pursed lips. She can't help but lift her chin a little when Alicia lets out a slow breath, nudging their mouths together just a little. She knows she's being incredibly forward and usually its not her style. But it is the end of the world. And something about this kid makes her inhibitions completely disappear.

Alicia's eyes are wide with what's happening, and her inability to stop it. She tries to remember why she should. A vague voice in the back of her mind whispers Matt's name to her. But Alicia barely hears it. Its hard to think when Elyza's eyes and mouth are that close. She's trying to figure out how the hell this happened and why. But her heads shutting off. All she can think about are those smirking lips that lie nearly against her own.

And it stuns her when her only thought is to move into them.

"I'm waiting, princess"

Elyza smirks wider and Alicia's chest shakes with the quick breath in she takes. She closes her eyes, hoping that if she's not looking at Elyza's she could get some control back. Elyza just breathes a laugh and gently touches the back of Alicia's head, fingers just slipping through her hair where it curls over her right shoulder. Her hand feels warm and Alicia hates how her skin is easily welcoming it. She lets herself be pulled closer, giving herself up completely just as Elyza's lips begin to brush heavier over her own.

"Shit!" Elyza breathes suddenly and Alicia's eyes snap open.

Elyza's shooting a serious look over her shoulder. Alicia turns her head and stumbles a step to the side at the five walkers staggering towards them through the parking lot. Each of them snarling excitedly.

She gasps sharply when she becomes aware again of her surroundings. She has no idea how but Elyza completely managed to shut her down and take her out of the fucking apocalypse just then. And instead of being furious with the blonde girl beside her, she's surprised at her fury with the walkers for interrupting them.

Alicia looks down when Elyza takes a tight hold of her hand and starts heading in the opposite direction of the walkers, pulling her quickly after her.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, princess" she says pulling Alicia quickly into a run towards the mall.

Alicia frowns at her back, "Where're we going?" She gasps breathing hard from trying to keep up. Elyza doesn't say. Just keeps tugging her along at a fast pace.

They round the corner but skid to a sudden stop just inside the mall entrance. Both with frozen stares for the dozens of walkers standing still ahead of them. Elyza curses internally. She knew this was a bad idea. The two girls hold their breaths but the walkers haven't noticed them yet. They look like they're just standing there, vacant.

Alicia looks back terrified at Elyza who puts a finger to her lips and slowly starts backing up. Alicia copies her, stumbling a little over her own feet in her panic to get away.

Elyza pulls her a step to the left and a loud rattle echoes around the mall from the kicked can under Alicia's boot. The two girls look down at it, and Alicia feels completely afraid at the look Elyza shoots her before she turns her attention to their audience.

The walkers ahead of them have all turned and the two girls freeze at the loud growling crowd ambling towards them.

Alicia breathes deeply against the loud pounding of her heart, especially when the first walkers they'd been trying to shake enter the mall behind them, blocking their way out.

"Shit!" she whimpers.

 _Thats it,_ she thinks, _We're screwed!_

She looks down when Elyza grabs her hand again. She leans close and gives Alicia a serious look and her knife before she tells her to run. Before Alicia can argue she's being pulled around Elyza's back to the free space on her left. The blonde pushes hard on her shoulder to get her to go already. Then she pulls her gun out.

Alicia shakes her head, "I'm not leaving you!" She shouts at her.

Elyza ignores her and shoots a walker down. Another comes at her and Alicia's fear heightens when he manages to grab Elyza's jacket.

"Oh no you don't!" The blonde growls grabbing his torn hoody to yank him back.

He falls over himself and she quickly shoots him in the head, turning to shoot another approaching walker, and another. The noise attracts more of them and Alicia knows Elyza will run out of bullets before she kills them all.

"We have to run!" She shouts to the other girl, looking around frantically at the snarling walkers.

"Are you still here?!" Elyza replies grunting as she throws another walker back into the crowd forming on her.

She starts backing up from them, ducking and dodging any walker that lunges for her and then putting them down quickly. She keeps going, breaths becoming more and more tired as she fights continuously against the horde. When she feels her back hit a wall she jumps to the left, cursing under her breath when she realises the only way free is towards Alicia.

Elyza looks over her shoulder to the stairs and stares furiously at the other girl still stood watching. She's about to snarl at her to run again, but the words choke in her throat. Her heart freezes seeing a walker approach Alicia from behind and she quickly raises her hand to shoot it before it can so much as growl at the other girl.

"Fucking run, you idiot!" Elyza shouts at her, turning herself panicked when hands clutch at her shirt.

The walker's fingers scratch over her chest, and his teeth snap right by her ear as she tries to hold him off. She hears Alicia shout, trying to distract the walker off her. But it doesn't work. He's not interested in walking to Alicia when there's food right here for him.

Elyza grapples with him and she hears Alicia shout when she feels herself trip down. Elyza hits the floor hard and she grunts even more winded when the walker lands on top of her. She raises her hand to shoot him but realises with dread that she's dropped her gun in the fall down. Immediately she's taken over by fear as she tries to hold the walker off her. Behind him she can hear the others drawing nearer. If she can't find a way to kill this one she'll die.

She looks around on the ground beside her for something to help but there is nothing. Just garbage. The walker pushes harder against her hands and they slip off his shoulders to press against the shredded skin peering through his shirt. Sickeningly she can feel them begin to sink through the weak rotted flesh on his chest. The sight, feel and smell of it makes her gag.

The walker's body slowly lowers with her hands going deeper into him. His snapping mouth gets closer. She lets out a scared whimper. Any second now she'll be his new chew toy.

"Elyza!" A scream calls her name and then suddenly the walker stops fighting and hangs limp above the blonde.

She moves her head back and stares up at its still face. At the knife embedded between its eyes. Her knife.

She only had seconds to process what happened before somebody's helping her yank the dead walker off.

"You okay?" Alicia pants touching elyza's face gently.

Elyza looks back at her and stares. She's trying to understand how she's not dead but she can't. How did Alicia do that?

The other girl watches her back concerned and scared.

"I know you're shocked and all, but I don't think they're going to wait for you to get over it"

Alicia looks over Elyza's head to the walkers still coming for them. The blonde snaps back then and nods. She clambers to her feet and bends over the dead walker that'd just tried to eat her.

"What're you doing?!" Alicia hisses as Elyza tugs the knife out of the walker, "Leave it! We'll get another one later!"

Elyza ignores her and braces her boot against the walker's head. She yanks the knife out and quickly wipes it clean against her vest before she drags it point deep up her right arm.

"Elyza!" Alicia gasps watching on in curious horror as blood gushes out of the blonde.

Elyza continues to ignore her and kneels to drip her bleeding arm over the walker's skin and clothes, staining them with her blood. Then she rushes to Alicia's side and grabs her hand.

"We gotta go, princess"

Alicia's eyes snap back and forth between Elyza and the walker.

"But- You- What?!"

Elyza rolls her eyes and forces Alicia to move. They sprint towards the shops, and Elyza skids to briefly head back to scan a map of the mall before she returns to their escaping. Alicia doesn't know what the hell to think. She doesn't understand how Elyza can be so calm after what just happened.

"I'm thinking shoes" she mumbles ignoring Alicia's incredulous look as she begins directing Alicia up a floor.

Alicia looks down as they rush up the still escalators. She sees the dead walker coated in elyza's blood and she stares at the new walkers falling to their hands and knees beside him. Soon they crowd around him, pulling at his clothes and arms, some even biting into him. She turns away when one rips him chest to stomach open with their hands.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" she whimpers squeezing her eyes shut as her own stomach flips in revulsion.

Elyza rubs her back and nudges her to keep going. She's feeling sick herself. Her hands are still coated in that walker's blood. She's shaking still from the revulsion of feeling his rotted insides. And the fear of having come so close to her own death makes her feel weak. But she can't slow down. She's bleeding heavily and the growing horde downstairs is just going to attract more walkers. That one body isn't going to keep them for long. For now she has to keep going.

 _We have to keep going,_ she thinks looking at Alicia's pale face glance back at the walkers again. For some reason she feels an undeniable need to keep the girl safe. To protect her. And instead of questioning why she just promises herself she will.

"You're doing fine" she soothes the other girl, "Just keep walking. And for the love of god please don't step on any more trash"

* * *

 _ **Quick note to my followers; Im on Archive Of Our Own too now! Same username. Find me there for (eventual) new stories unpublished on fanfic! :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

"How did you know that would work?" Alicia asks as she watches elyza come back from the closet with a first aid kit.

They're held up in the managers office in a Foot Locker. After ten minutes running for their lives away from the growling crowd climbing the escalators after them, Alicia had taken lead and pulled the other girl into the nearest store. Elyza had argued. She'd wanted to keep going, in hopes higher ground would help them. But Alicia didn't like the way the other girls face had been steadily paling from blood loss.

Elyza ignores the question at first. She's busy looking through the drawers of the desk. After a short moment fumbling around inside them she lets out a triumphant laugh and slams a bottle on the desktop.

Alicia frowns at the blonde twisting the cap off to pour the clear liquid over her wounded arm. The unmistakable smell of vodka hits the air and Alicia stares impressed at Elyza's unaffected stare down at her arm as the stinging liquid washes over the open flesh lining it. It won't clean it. But its better than zombie blood.

"They like eating the living" Elyza answered finally, voice low and husking with distraction, "I just figured if the walker had enough fresh blood on it the others would think it was alive too"

Alicia nods. It seems logical. In fact, its pretty fucking brilliant.

"You're pretty smart" she mumbles the thought aloud and blushes a little when she realises how the blonde must have heard that.

She keeps her eyes glued to the dried blood lining the bottom of her converses, too embarrassed to look Elyza in the eye. A smile tugs at the corners of Elyza's lips seeing Alicia look so shy. She can't help but think its adorable.

Elyza swigs some of the vodka and then takes a seat on the floor opposite Alicia. She balances the first aid kit on her right knee and raises a brow at the younger girl.

"Was that a compliment from her royal highness?" She grins when Alicia rolls her eyes, "Wow, it really is the end of the world"

Alicia swats Elyza's free knee, "Shut up"

Elyza chuckles and opens the first aid kit. Her eyes scan through the meagre supplies before she brings out a bandage roll. She tears the packaging with her teeth and unravels the roll. She stops to assess the wound before she attempts to wrap it around her arm. Its hard. She can't seem to make it a tight enough to stop the bleeding. She's just covering herself in blood. She growls beneath her breath and furrows her brow in intense concentration.

Alicia watches Elyza struggle a moment before she sits up and offers her help.

"Thanks" elyza sighs leaning her head back while the brunette's hands gently grip her arm. Alicia smiles when the blonde tiredly closes her eyes. She looks less fierce and bossy this way. It suits her.

"You might want to use that to wash your hands" Alicia mumbles nodding to the blood covering Elyza's fingers. The blonde shakes her head.

"Waste of good booze" she smirks and offers the bottle to alicia, who pushes it away and continues to fix her arm.

"You're pretty good at throwing knives" Elyza mumbles through the long silence that follows. Alicia just shrugs, "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I didn't. I just did it"

Elyza opens her eyes and looks down at the gentle way Alicia is cleaning her arm before she bandages it. She tilts her head to see better and it sents her hair cascading down the side of her face and neck. Elyza smiles and before she can stop herself she tucks the dark strands back behind Alicia's ear. The other girl jolts and closes her eyes at the contact and breathes slow through her nose. When she looks back at her, Elyza can't stop her calm stare into Alicia's eyes. Their forest green look so familiar to her. And she's not sure why. But she doesn't care. She just wants to keep looking at them.

Alicia looks away first. She hurriedly bandages Elyza's arm and backs away from her. Elyza tips her head confused. And Alicia wishes she'd stop that. Its making her heart pound in her chest and her confusion over it just irritates her.

"You probably need stitches" She mumbles as Elyza tightens the bandage off.

"Probably" Elyza husks flippantly back. She doesn't really care about her arm. She's had worse.

Alicia looks up and those eyes are still staring at her. Deeply. Searchingly. Like they can see every last part of her. She shifts uncomfortably under their attention.

"So where exactly are you from?" Alicia asks awkwardly, "That's not an american accent"

Elyza chuckles and finally she looks away. She drinks some more vodka before she answers.

"Melbourne" Alicia frowns at her, "Australia" Elyza clarifies with a teasing smile for the other girl, "You know, about fifteen hours thata way"

"I know where Melbourne is!" Alicia snaps and they settle one again in an awkward silence. Alicia plays with her fingers and Elyza sips at her vodka and watches her. The blonde doesn't miss the way Alicia keeps glancing up every so often only to look quickly away. It amuses her. A lot.

"Why're you here?" Alicia asks intrigued by the australian. Elyza throws her a quick smirk.

"Looking for a friend" she answers quirking a brow in challenge.

Alicia gives her an unamused look back and stands, "We should get going. The walkers will probably have doubled by now" She starts taking steps towards the door, "This place should have a back door or-"

Elyza grabs her hand as she makes to walk past and yanks her back. Alicia stumbles in front of her with an annoyed look down at the blonde. Elyza just gives her a serious and unapologetic look back.

"It's getting dark" she explains gently, "We can't wander the streets at night. It's too dangerous"

"So, what? We stay here?"

Elyza nods, "Unless you have a helicopter stashed in those shorts.."

She looks down at Alicia's legs again and it makes the other girl unconsciously tighten the shirt wrapped around her waist. Elyza smirks and looks away. Alicia calms down the second she does. She doesn't know what is about Elyza but the girl just somehow knows how to get under her skin. It's irritating.

Elyza sighs feeling Alicia's glare, "Look, we'll sleep here tonight and then tomorrow, after I've found you some lovely pants to cover them gorgeous legs, I'll get you out of this hell of a mall. Deal?"

She holds her hand out and Alicia rolls her eyes but doesn't take it.

"Sure" she mumbles and moves past the blonde's still outstretched hand to check the door is secure. Elyza just smiles after her. The girl is a total worrier.

Alicia locks the door and slips the key into her pocket. Then she tests the handle a couple times. And all awhile Elyza is watching in complete fascination. She wonders if the girl has an compulsive disorder or if she's just afraid to be alone with someone she doesn't know. Elyza wouldn't blame her if she was. She would be too if the other girl wasn't so vulnerable and innocent looking.

"You always stress this much sleeping with strangers?" She asks making the other girl whip around with eyes wide at her.

"I'm not- We're not... Definitely not-"

"Hey, calm down!" Elyza laughs, "I didn't mean it that way. Jeeze"

Alicia growls under her breath and Elyza can't help but lick her lips. Christ the girl is hot.

"Let's just sit down and start over" she suggests gently.

She gives the other girl a friendly smile but Alicia is too annoyed to care much. It wasn't that elyza's teasing was too much. It was the way her heart lifted hopefully in response to it. And she didn't know why it did. She didn't want to sleep with Elyza. She wasn't gay. And she had- has, she has- a boyfriend. But she had to admit she did think Elyza attractive. Really attractive. And brave. And smart and strong. With lips so damn kissable it hurt to look at them.

She shook her head. She felt so confused.

"Or how about-"Alicia cuts Elyza's suggestion straight off.

"How about you shut up and we both sleep?" She snaps angrily.

Elyza holds her hands up and mimes locking her mouth, "Shutting up" she promised and silently leant back against the desk.

Once she was comfortable she moved a little over and patted the empty space beside her. Alicia eyed it warily and that made Elyza smile.

"Hey I won't bite" she looked Alicia over and smirked, "Not Unless you ask first" she winked and Alicia felt her stomach flutter nervously.

She ignored Elyza's second pat of the floor to tempt her over and instead settled in the corner away from the door. Elyza watched her every step towards the corner of the room and then her untying her flannel shirt from her waist to use as a pillow. She watched the younger girl curl up on her side and close her eyes for the briefest of moments before she snapped them open again. Elyza's eyes softened in sympathy. She understood what was wrong.

"Was he your first?" She asked turning her gaze away to the door. She felt Alicia look back at her, "Your first kill" she clarified when Alicia didn't answer. Behind her Alicia cringed.

Kill. She killed somebody.

"Yeah"

She pulls her knees up to her chest and tightly wraps her arms around them. She squeezes them tightly and bites her lip to stop herself from crying. She didn't want to look so weak in front of Elyza. She was tougher than that. She could take this horrible disgusting thing she did on the chin. Just like when her dad died. Just like when Matt was bitten. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't.

Elyza could practically hear the other girl struggling to keep it together in front of her.

"It gets easier" came the blonde's gentle reply. Alicia just stares at her.

"It shouldn't be easy" she breathes miserably out, "It shouldn't be this way at all"

Elyza's gaze moves away from the door back to the distraught teen curled up behind her. She wants to help the girl, comfort her. But she doesn't want to upset her further. So she leans back against the desk and sips slowly at her vodka. She's thinking about her own first kill. It'd been a boy, just a random stranger calling out for help. She'd run over to him straight away but found he'd been bitten and begging to be put down before he could change. She remembers kneeling beside him and humming a soft lullaby. She remembers the cold feel of the knife handle in her palm and the sound it made sliding out of its sheath. And then the thankful look in his eyes as she pushed it into his neck. She'd cried for hours beside his body, riddled with guilt and regret. Until he'd finally begun to turn too.

Elyza shivers to herself and glances back at her companion only to find Alicia had rolled over to sleep. She looks her over in the dim light. Even asleep Alicia looks upset. It breaks Elyza's heart. Her eyes glance down to the blood on the girl's hands. She thinks its so tragic that someone as innocent as Alicia has to now kill in order to survive. The world was unfair before but now it was downright playing dirty.

An itch on her arm pulls Elyza's attention away. She looks to the faint red seeping through the bandage lining her forearm. She's not worried. It will stop soon. She scratches at it as she slips her eyes over Alicia's pale face again, and she frowns trying to guess her age. She seems close to Elyza's age in the way she holds her own. But that consistent snarky sarcasm holds all the signs of a teen. The blonde just hopes Alicia knows what she's up against when it comes to being a cynical bitch. She's pretty sure she holds the champion belt when it comes to that.

Elyza's eyes continue to graze all over the brunette as she sleeps. From the bags under her eyes to the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Elyza is very much hypnotized by her.

 _Who are you?_ She thinks frowning hard at the younger girl.

She can't shake it. That feeling of familiarity. She rakes her eyes over Alicia's body and somehow she knows it, like she's seen every inch of it before. She remembers the burning feeling she got when she grabbed the other girls hand when the walkers had appeared. She'd held her hand and felt an immediate flush of safety overtake her. Even though she was the one saving Alicia. And when Alicia's long fingers had squeezed hers back.. Elyza had felt that burn right between her legs.

Elyza shakes her head feeling it again and fidgets uncomfortably. She shouldn't be thinking that. She shouldn't be admiring the girl at all. She should be worrying about their shitty situation and belittling herself for getting herself into it. She still can't work that one out. Why had she even stopped by the girl earlier? She hadn't even looked human. Just another walker. Elyza wants to believe its because she was bored and wanted to kill something to amuse herself. And believing it would be easy if she hadn't then followed the girl through the parking lot, first to stop then to assist her in her death mission. Elyza doesn't even know why she had. She just didn't want to watch this beautiful girl that appeared from nowhere be killed. Thats what she tells herself.

Because believing she felt cosmically drawn to Alicia wasn't an option. Nothing lasts in the apocalypse.

 _Feeling is weakness,_ she recites to herself and peels her eyes off Alicia's sleeping form. But she can't help the glance back she gives after she's turned her head away.

"Night, Princess" she sighs and settles herself in for the night watch.

She sits slouched back but with one leg propped up incase she needs to move quick. Her left hand sits balled up on top of her knee. Usually she'd be holding her gun there pointing at the door. She doesn't even have her knife. Alicia does. Elyza feels a brief flicker of irritation towards the other girl for leaving her weaponless and she grumbles beneath her breath before resigning herself to hand to hand combat.

Soon her thoughts and Alicia's soft breaths are her only company as she rides out the eery silence of the mall outside their room. She finds it oddly comforting, having someone there with her. Even if they don't seem to like her and their attitude gets under her skin sometimes. Elyza keeps stealing side glances at Alicia throughout the night. She tells herself its to make sure the girl is still safe and sleeping. But in the back of her mind there's that annoying tingling familiar feeling. One that said she'd met the girl somewhere before. That she was important. But Elyza can't work out why. It grates on her patience so much that by the time Alicia finally wakes up Elyza is in a pretty grouchy mood with the world.

"Morning" Alicia mumbles, shifting herself up to stretch. Her back aches horribly from the night on the floor and her crumpled shirt had hardly saved her neck from the same torture.

Alicia pushes her arms out and groans feeling the satisfying click of her bones. She looks around their pitiful office room after, bringing her eyes back to the silent blonde.

"Usually people say morning back" she says walking towards the blonde. Elyza just grunts in reply.

Alicia looks down at the Australian and sends her a sympathetic look when she sees how exhausted Elyza looks. Alicia wonders if she has trouble sleeping at night. Her eyes travel down when the blonde still refuses to look at her. She nods to Elyza's arm.

"How's the emo arm today?" she asks smiling nervously when Elyza looks blankly back at her, "You know, because you cut yourself?"

Elyza doesn't even blink and it makes Alicia feel so stupid.

Hiding her blush, Alicia just rolls her eyes and turns to the door. She peers through the clouded glass, searching for anything moving in the distorted shadows outside that warned a walker was out there waiting for them. She can't see anything.

"I don't think anything is out there" she whispers turning her head when the blonde starts moving behind her.

Elyza comes wordlessly to her side and roughly pulls her out of the way to open the door, turning quick to cast Alicia an impatient look when it refuses to budge. Alicia crosses her arms and stares back at her. She's not going to be pushed around by this girl.

But what she hoped would be a silent fight she would win turned into Elyza reaching forward for her pocket for the key.

"Get off me!" she snaps slapping Elyza's hands away from her shorts.

Too late. The blonde already has the key.

Elyza scoffs and offers Alicia a light smirk in return for the violated glare she receives, "Don't flatter yourself, princess"

The blonde turns back to the door and unlocks it. Alicia watches as Elyza knocks loudly on the glass, almost hard enough to smash it, and stands back with her ear pressed against it. She smiles seconds later and Alicia catches the faintest whisper of a countdown before Elyza is shoving the door open, smashing it into the unsuspecting walker outside. It stumbles back and hits the floor and Elyza wastes no time in walking over to stomp her boot into its head. It takes a few goes until the walker's skull caves in sending brains and blood across the floor towards Alicia, who immediately turns away with a churning stomach.

"Right then!" Elyza says cheerfully and claps her hands together not noticing the pale teenager behind her panting and swallowing to keep from vomiting, "Breakfast"

Alicia shudders to herself. Eating is the absolute last thing on her mind right now. Still, she follows Elyza out of the office, making sure to carefully tiptoe around the walker and its mess. All the while she's thinking who the hell this strange Australian is and whether she's truly safe with her. The girl seems a bit crazy.

 _I've got to find mom and Travis soon,_ She thinks while she follows Elyza through the quiet mall.


End file.
